Top SEO Tips: A Guide To XML Sitemaps

Do you have an XML sitemap? Many webmasters aren’t aware of what XML sitemaps are or why they are needed. Tom Williams is here to provide more information.

What is an XML Sitemap?

Put simply, an XML sitemap is a file in which webmasters are able to list all web pages on their site, informing search engines about the structure of their content.

Search engine crawlers will read this file to aid their understanding of your content, allowing for more efficient crawling of your website.

This file also allows webmasters to indicate additional information about each web page:

When the page was last updated

How often the page changes

How important it is in relation to other pages on the site

Why Do You Need an XML Sitemap?

Generally speaking, if a website’s pages are properly linked to, web crawlers are usually able to discover most of a website without having access to an XML sitemap. Even though this may be true in some cases, an XML sitemap will further improve the crawling process.

There are certain situations in which using an XML sitemap is more important:

If you have a relatively new website which has very few external links to it – It’s common knowledge that web crawlers discover the web by following links from one page to another. As a result, crawlers will struggle to find your website if there are very few links pointing to it. A sitemap will ensure crawlers can find your website easily.

If you have a really large website – Most web crawlers have a crawl depth limit and if your website has a large number of pages, it’s likely that recently updated pages may be overlooked. Utilising a sitemap will ensure this isn’t the case.

If your website has a number of pages that are isolated or not well linked to – If your website contains pages that aren’t naturally referenced or linked to but still important, a sitemap will ensure these aren’t missed.

How To Create an XML Sitemap

Okay, now you know what an XML sitemap is and why it’s used, let’s look at how to create one.

The first step is to decide which pages should be included within your sitemap. Getting a list of pages on your website can be achieved by using crawling software such as Screaming Frog.

The next step is to put these pages into the relevant format. Sitemaps are typically formatted as follows: